The Role of a father. A Rogerian Argument. Is a father's participation Essay

The Role of a father. A Rogerian Argument. Is a father's participation in a child's growing up more significant in a son's or in - Essay Example It is the relationship with the father that decides daughter’s confidence in her womanhood, her identity, her relationships and her self-esteem level. It won’t be wrong to say that it is the father who builds the path of success, contentment and happiness in daughter’s life as it is he, who gives her the confidence to survive strongly and with dignity in the male dominated human society. Father’s role in child development It is a typical assumption that children become well adjusted adults if they live with same sex parent as same sex parent becomes an appropriate role model for them (Newman and Grauerholz 465). This assumption is strengthened with a research by Hosley and Montemayor (1997), who found that fathers have less contact with their daughters and engage more in activities of their sons (Lamb and Lewis 290). Larsen and Richards (1994) found that due to the communication gap with fathers, daughters remain uninfluenced by them while sons are influen ced a lot (Lamb and Lewis 290). However, a review of literature on child psychopathology by Phares (1997) revealed that even though fathers do not interact with their children as much as mothers, they still have a powerful indirect and direct impact on the social and emotional adjustments of children (Lamb and Lewis 290). This shows that fathers play an important role in the development of both, the male and the female child. ... of 2433 teenagers living with single parent, sociologists Brian Powell and Douglas Downey (1997) revealed that there is no base to the assumption that same sex parent are better as they are better suited to become appropriate role models (Newman and Grauerholz 465). In fact, they found that the chances of teenage girls becoming pregnant are more when they live with their mothers (Newman and Grauerholz 465). This proves that the assumption that same sex parents prove to be better role models for adolescents is wrong. According to Freud, daughters have an unconscious desire for their fathers and in order to resolve the conflict of the internal desire, they identify with mother’s feminine qualities and model her (Sigelman and Rider 353). This shows that daughter’s modeling of mother is not ‘natural’ but is an attempt to impress her father and to win his appreciation. In this way, it is the father who reinforces the feminine behavior in his daughter (Sigelman a nd Rider 353). According to Parke (1996), Freud’s notion that father makes an important contribution in the development of the gender based role in daughters, is confirmed (Sigelman and Rider 353). Also, acceptance and encouragement by father plays a crucial role in healthy development of daughters. Sons do not depend on fathers to develop their masculine identity. They find the masculine identity through competitive achievement and acceptance by male group (male friends, peers etc.) (Kohlberg 163). However, daughters gain confidence and strength in their feminine identity only when they are accepted and approved by male (Kohlberg 163). As father is the first male in daughter’s life, the foundation of her future male-female relationship is based on her relationship with her father (Shearin Karres 165).